Tag Archives: world cup 2010

Its ‘Do or Die’ time for teams who made it through to the last 16 in World Cup 2010. In past world cups we’ve seen some history making moments from goalkeepers and penalty kickers alike.

Castrol’s team of performance analysts have studied every penalty taken in Europe’s top five leagues and the UEFA Champions League over the last four years plus a number of international matches to create the Castrol Edge Penalty Analysis System thats been endorsed by Peter Schmeichel.

The Great Dane believes the Castrol Edge Penalty Analysis system can give goalkeepers an edge ahead of any expected shoot outs. Below are some interesting stats sourced from goal.com (June 26, 2010)…

Just 58% of midfielders manage to convert spot-kicks in shoot-outs

The older a player is, the less likely he will score – with only a 71% success rate in the over 28’s

Left footed players only convert 50% compared to 69% for right footed players

Goalkeepers wearing red jerseys have never saved a penalty at a World Cup whereas those wearing green save the most!

The world’s biggest trumpet measuring at 37 meters situated on one of the unfinished flyover roads in Cape Town have drawn lots of attention. The giant vuvuzela would have to be powered by the horn of a giant truck.

The authorities in Cape Town have put the plans ice to sound the monster instrument for fears the deafening sound could wreak havoc on the roads below.

“Hopefully, we are going to come to a compromise where we can blow it at special occasions, the final, the semi-finals and perhaps the quarter-finals,” says Francoise Marais marketing manager for Hyundai South Africa, makers of the giant vuvuzela.

South Africa have bowed out of the World Cup 2010 and have made history as the first World Cup host team to exit the competition in the group stages. While we making history we might as well honk the world biggest trumpet.

The Jabulani Ball has been a hot topic at the World Cup 2010 soccer show piece currently being played on South Africa soil. The new ‘Jabulani’ ball has been widely criticised mainly because of its irregular flight.

England coach Fabio Capello says, “It is good when you play short passes, but when you try to switch the ball with long passes, it is very difficult to understand the trajectory.”

“The ball is dreadful. It’s horrible, but it’s horrible for everyone,” stated James, an English goalkeeper. He was concerned that goalkeepers would end up “looking daft” when the ball curls round their hands.

Former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson now Ivory Coast boss said that goalkeepers should be consulted when new footballs are being designed, especially for international tournaments.

Sven says, “It’s too late to do something about it in this World Cup.”

Wayne Rooney, who is hoping to score his first goal in the World Cup finals, has denied the ball is a problem.

Green also refused to blame the ball for his mistake, but admitted that it had moved unexpectedly after Dempsey hit his shot.

Adidas have said that the reason for the movement of the ball is altitude. They have also blamed the teams for not practising enough with the ball before the tournament and The world football governing body. FIFA have defended the ball, saying it was fully “tested.”

The way ‘Jabulani Ball’ was designed affects all facets of the game, whether switching the ball with a long pass or a player taking a shot at goal. ‘Jabulani’ could suddenly swerve away and leave a goalkeeper stranded or the ball can be heading for the goal but then deviate off course. Could all this mean that more goals may or may not be scored at the World Cup finals? Leave me our thoughts.

Finally the moment South Africa has been waiting for is finally here, with only 9 days to go to World Cup 2010, Bafana Bafana coach Carlos Alberto Parreira has announced his final 23-man squad for the 2010 Soccer World Cup.

The surprise omission from the squad is the very experienced striker Benni McCarthy, the other 4 players left out of the 23 man squad are goalkeeper Rowen Fernandez, defender Bryce Moon, midfielder Franklyn Cale and defender Innocent Mdledle.

Bafana will be kicking off their 2010 campaign on Friday, June 11 against Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg. Kick-off is at 16:00. Mexico are you ready for this…?